The crew of China's orbiting space station has completed the first of several planned spacewalks of their six-month mission, pushing such activities into the realm of routine for the country's astronauts.

SpaceX is a big step closer to sending its giant Starship spacecraft into orbit, completing an engine-firing test at the launch pad on Thursday.

Thirty-one of the 33 first-stage booster engines ignited simultaneously for about 10 seconds in south Texas. The team turned off one engine before sending the firing command and another engine shut down—"but still enough engines to reach orbit!" tweeted SpaceX's Elon Musk.

Musk estimates Starship's first orbital test flight could occur as soon as March, if the test analyses and remaining preparations go well.